A New End
by GreyWolf666
Summary: Months after Michaelson destroyed an entire covenant armada above the surface above Pandora, A new hero finds himself fighting for not only his life but the life of a planet.
1. Chapter 1

A New End

Chapter 1

It Never Ended

"Wraiths on the left! Move those Scorpion tanks up and blast em!" I said over my coms. "Aye, Thomas. Transmitting orders to UNSC ground forces now." The AI 'Cortana.' replied. I'd never much liked these computer programmed entities much, too many variables. The giant metal monsters with there massive gun tubes rolled past me as they began their forward assault on the alien vehicles.

This constant onslaught of kill or be killed on Pandora had been going on for months. Lieutenant Michaelson had taken out the first wave of these ugly alien fucks, in a revenge filled rage after the covenant had killed John-117 and his lover, Mia. His sister Lilith had continued to fight valiantly through the following waves however, becoming my second in command on the ground and commanding the respect not only of the indigenous forces of the previous 'Handsome Jack' but also of the UNSC Personnel now under her command.

"Lilith, that's enough for the day. Let's pull everybody back behind the security wall for the night." I said to her. "Did you catch that Cortana?" I asked the AI. "Attention all UNSC Personnel, full retreat order, I repeat, full retreat order to the rendezvous point behind the security wall." The computer generated voice came over my coms as well as the other hundreds of thousands of soldiers on the face of the planet.

UNSC engineers had sucessfully enlarged the security wall once built by Handsome Jack and the Hyperion Corporation, to keep out bandits as well as Roland and his forces of Crimson raiders, it was now the only thing that kept covenant forces away from friendly troops at night.

I lit a cigarette and walked over to one of the campfires that had been built for warmth and to cook on. "Why don't they just glass the planet? Like they did with Reach." I over heard a UNSC Marine whisper to one of his comrades. Some had theorized it was because they wanted the honor of defeating the great forces of Pandora face to face. Most of us knew it was because if they did that there would be no way to get to the 'Great Warrior of Pandora' that had been locked away in the vault. "Cortana?" I radioed the AI. "Aye, Sir. I'm here." She replied sounding almost depressed as she appeared in my view screen. "Keep an eye on the surface. Wake me when you need me." I ordered her. "Yes, John." She answered, what appeared to be a single tear stream down her face and it became stricken with embarrassment and sadness a split second before she disappeared completely. "That was strange." I thought to myself. "She seemed almost human..."


	2. Chapter 2: A Ray Of Hope

Chapter 2

A Ray Of Hope

"Thomas." I heard my father whisper as I slept. "You're doing me proud, son." I woke up. Almost crying from hearing my father's voice. I hadn't heard from him since he went dark and got shipped to this god forsaken planet on the edge of colonized space. "Fuck you, Michaelson." I whispered, lighting a cigarette. "You killed yourself, knowing I was trying to follow you into space and now I'm left to clean up your mess." I took a long drag and gazed up at what was left of the stars as the sun began to take it's place in the sky for the long day ahead.

I went hot on my comms, "Cortana, rally the troops. We're making a push today. One that will make them hurt for John and the others." The blue almost transparent woman appeared in my vision looking rejoiced and suddenly purposeful. "Aye, Sir!" She confirmed and began the task I'd set before her. "Transmit to the UNSC, you demand they send the rest of Blue team, and if they refuse. You order them here anyway. Fill the planets surface with Marines and ODST. And Cortana?" I took another drag. "Aye, Sir?" She asked. "Thank you. You're the one person I can count on." She smiled.

I stood up and tossed my cigarette. Racking my rifle I made my way to one of the warthogs and situated myself in the passenger's seat. "Let's light up these alien fucks and make them wish they'd never tangoed with the human race, OOHRAH?" I yelled. The camp echoed with a resounding "OOHRAH!" that would make any enemy of Earth tremble in the wake.


	3. Chapter 3: Always Faithful

Chapter 3

Always Faithful

Always Forward

"Thomas! We've got Wraiths and Scarabs marching towards us at a rate unmatched by our Scorpions!" Cortana yelled frantically in my ear. "Cortana, calm down. We're the UNSC, Earth's greatest fighting force. We're not going to let a bunch of mutated bugs get the best of us." I said lighting a cigarette and slamming another magazine into my rifle and spreading the chunks of metal down range.

The ground shook and a cloud of dirt flew up around me as an ODST drop pod landed within ten feet of where I stood. "087 has touched down, Sir. What are your orders?" A voice that I hadn't heard in years crackled over my coms as the woman behind it busted the drop pod open and stepped out. I looked over and put two fingers to my helmet's face plate making the traditional Spartan smile. "You're a site for sore eyes, Rabbit." I replied. "We've got incoming scarabs and wraiths. Scorpions can't keep them back. I was thinking we run them crazy like we to the sentinels back on Onyx." She snapped two fingers to her mask. "Aye, Sir."

Before I could blink, she was gone. The speed of the gods in her boots and a rocket launcher in her hands. I grabbed a couple cases of extra rockets and took off after her. "God damn it, Kelly. We aren't all Spartans." I jived as I caught up. I felt plasma against my cheek as a needle flew past. I dropped the rocket cases and popped up my magnum, popping two rounds center mass of the ugly ass jackal who thought he could get the jump on me. "Contact left." Kelly said calmer than could be as three wraiths started charging us. "Pop em." I ordered.

Three rockets, three hits, the ugly alien tech exploding glowing blue and green from the plasma cores collapsing on themselves. Kelly groaned, obviously not realizing her radio was transmitting. "Having fun?" I asked trying to hold back my laughter. Her entire coms readout went dark and she rushed a fourth wraith. Jumping on the shell, busting out the cock pit and dropping a frag in, blowing the pilot out of the hole she'd created in the armor as she jumped back.

The scorpion battalion that I'd brought outside the wall today finally caught up and rumbled past as Cortana appeared on my HUD. "Thomas, we're already ten miles closer to the Covenant base than we were yesterday. I think we should stop and set up defenses for the night and hold this land." I waved at Kelly and her green status light reappeared on my team read out, flashing twice for the "Ready" signal. "Copy that Cortana. Order the ODST and Marines to dig in." She nodded and blinked away again.

I lit a cigarette and sat down against the treads of a Scorpion who's driver was eating with his squad around a small make shift camp fire. Kelly walked over and sat down next to me, taking her helmet off and motioning for me to bum her a cigarette, so I tossed her one of my spare packs. She lit it and inhaled. "You know, Spartans who take off their helmets while in an active combat zone can be martialed by their commanding officer for violating SOPs." I chuckled. "Bite me." She replied. I laughed and set my helmet visor to full shade nodding off to catch even twenty minutes of sleep before hell broke loose again.


	4. Chapter 4: Silence

Chapter 5

Silence

I woke up, realizing I felt way too warm for where I was laying. I clicked my visor back to normal shade and looked around. Everyone was fast asleep on the ground, a few guard walking around as the sun set high above us. "It's got to be at least noon." I said standing up and lighting a cigarette as I walked over to one of the patrols. "Report." I ordered as soon as I was within earshot. "Uh, Aye, Sir. Covenant activity tapered off around day break. Haven't seen anything since. It's been real quiet for once." I took a drag and looked around. 'That can't be good.' I thought.

"Cortana." I transmitted into my mic making the blue AI woman appear. "Yes, Thomas?" "Give me an aerial scan of the area we know as the covenant camp." She nodded and pulled up the live view to my HUD. "Thomas, it's empty, they've been obliterated!" She sounded almost shocked. "That's what I was afraid. ETA on the rest of Blue Team?" I asked. "Kelly – 087 was the closest, it's going to be awhile yet." I nodded and clicked her off. "Marines! Load up! Push to the covenant camp!" I yelled across the camp waking anybody who was still sleeping.

"God I haven't slept like that in ages!" Somebody yelled above the rumble of off road tires and tank treads. "Don't get used to it. The only easy day was yesterday." I transmitted to the entire battalion getting a few ooh-rahs in return. We pulled up to the camp. "Dismount and investigate. Scorpions and Warthog gunners stay on high alert." I ordered looking around.

'Good God no, it can't be.'


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 6

The never ending noise.

I jumped as the silence was broken by a Marine screaming bloody murder. "FUCKING CHEM SHIELDS! RETREAT! PULL BACK BEHIND THE WALL!" I yelled over the radio closing off the air intake on my helmet and slamming my armor into emergency mode. "Cortana, prep a small area tactical nuke. Mark my coordinates as the drop zone." I radioed up to the Autumn. "Thomas? That's suicide." I nodded don't worry about me. We have to at least attempt to contain this threat." Another scream, and another, soon it seemed like nothing else had ever existed as the sound of roaring engines and running boots kicked up heading back towards the wall.

My radio chimed with an incoming transmission from Admiral Keyes, "Marine! You tell me right now why my ship just went on automated lock down prepping for a nuke launch!" He sounded pissed. I panted as my oxygen levels had begun dropping as I ran inside my sealed armor. "Keyes." Pant. "The fucking." Pant, everything started fogging over. "FLOOD!" I ran through the burning sensations in my lungs and the fog beginning to cover my eyes, not wanting to open my air for fear of infection. Keyes didn't even end the transmission before turning away. "Burn the surface!" He yelled to the control room of the Autumn.

I heard the clouds part as the massive steal ordinance came streaking through the sky. Thinking was beginning to get difficult as I ran to catch up to a scorpion that was streaking back towards camp, it's exhaust vents glowing red hot from burning fuel at a far faster rate than recommended. "Cortana, no air, till, wall." I muttered as I jumped on the rear of the vehicle before passing out from oxygen deprivation.

I came to in a field hospital behind the wall, my armor had been stripped off and I was now wearing an oxygen mask, surrounded by med techs clad in bio-haz mat suits. I sat up and removed the mask from my face. "Doc, gimme a cigarette." He looked at me crazy but handed me a pack from a shelf by his instruments. I lit it and took a long deep breath. "Get me out of this depressing ass room." I said standing up and heading for the door. I walked outside and found the first Officer I saw. "Sit Rep, Soldier."

He looked at me confused due to the scrubs that had replaced my presumably contaminated armor. "You haven't heard, sir?" He asked. "Anyone that wasn't behind the wall is now a mutated pile of dead." He shook his head and walked away. I took another long drag of the terrible vice burning between my lips.

'Only easy day was yesterday.'


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

I thought I'd just shoot my way out

"Cortana." I said leaning against a tank a few feet from the wall, staring out over the waves of flood that continually assaulted the barrier; the noise almost overwhelming. "Yes, Thomas?" She asked sounding exhausted. I'd had her running calculations for days and her condition seemed to be progressing. She was beginning to... feel.

"Where are we so far? Does the Autumn have enough ordinance and do you think the wall will hold?" I asked her. "In theory, yes." She replied a little distraught at the idea. "Ok Cortana, thank you. Tell Keyes to keep the Autumn on standby and await further reports." I ordered her. "Aye."

I strolled into Moxxi's who was still faithfully serving alcohol to her patrons. Their numbers were growing everyday as many people were scared that this was the end. I found Lilith sitting at the bar sipping on whiskey. "Lil, we need to talk. Cortana says it's possible." She spat out her whiskey. "No." She said. "We're not nuking the planet." She objected. "We've been over this. They're only here now, surrounding the wall. She says it'll hold then we can actually fix this." I pleaded with her, thinking I might have finally found the solution to the constant sound of death out in the wasteland. "Is there any way to juice up the wall? Make it stronger just to be sure?" She asked. "I'll get Cortana working with the engineers. They'll get it done." Lilith nodded and waved Moxxi over to get another drink. Preparing in case it didn't work. Either way we had to stop the flood and this would do it.

"Cortana, work with the engineers to beef up the wall. Afterwards. Nuke us."


End file.
